Nijuu Jinkaku: Split Personality
by NinjAngel
Summary: DarkDai Yaoi. After finding the Nijuu Jinkaku, Dark and Daisuke are able to separate. But what is the true secret of the artifact? Not to mention a developing bond that could lead to something more. Rated T for later chapters. Chapter four is FINALLY up.
1. Take A Picture

AH! New story for you all!

This is gonna be a series of related one shots. It's not necessarily a multi-chapter, although I suppose it could be seen that way. It doesn't really have a plot, so much as a few elements that tie it all in, namely the artifact that is introduced here, and a growing romance. Speaking of which...

DarkDai Yaoi/Shounen-ai Warning. DO NOT proceed if this is not your cup of tea.

Disclamer: D.N.Angel is SO not mine. There would be Yaoi if it was. Yukiru Sugisaki controls the romance.

* * *

**Chapter One: Take A Picture**

"Daisuke . . ."

The said boy opened his eyes, and attempted to take in his surroundings, _attempting_ being the key word. He was surrounded by pure, never-ending darkness. Everywhere he looked was a continuing abyss.

"Daisuke . . . "

He quickly turned to what he thought was the source of the sound. As soon as he turned, Daisuke saw that the one calling him was his other half.

"Dark . . . ? Did you call me?"

No answer. Dark turned towards Daisuke and began to walk.

"Daisuke . . . " Dark walked closer. But, it seemed as though the closer he was, the more transparent his form looked.

"D-Dark? Dark?! DARK?!" Dark continued to move forward, and continued to disappear. Daisuke tried to run, but found that he was stuck in the same spot, unable to advance. He pushed his legs to work harder, to propel him forward. He extended his hands outward, to grab the Kaitou. But . . .

He was gone.

"DAISUKE! Wake up!"

"YAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Daisuke immediately shot into an upright position, and found his mother's eyes staring intently at him. "M-Mom? Wh-?"

"Calm down, sweety. You seemed to be having a nightmare." She smiled sweetly at him. When her eyes opened, her gaze shifted from Daisuke's eyes to what was hanging around his neck.

"Dark is at his job, right?" Emiko had a slightly confused, yet knowing, look on her face. She was already preparing to be unsure of the answer she knew she would receive.

Daisuke's eyes had followed Emiko's gaze, and had known what the question would be before it was asked. "Yes, he is, so don't worry. I was just too tired from preparing for the festival at school, so I decided to split up and stay home. Dark was okay with it, too."

She slowly nodded, and headed toward the door. She sighed. "I'm just still not used to the idea of you two being in separate bodies. It's so weird to know that you're here at home, and Dark's at a museum! OH! I need a picture of you two together. I can't believe I haven't gotten one yet! Let me know when he gets home so I can take a picture. Is that okay, Dai-chan?"

The red-head laughed at his mother's antics, and nodded. "Mm. I'll let you know."

"Thanks!" With that, Emiko left the room.

Daisuke fell back onto his bed and let out a sigh. He absent-mindedly played with the pendant around his neck. It was one half of a modified Yin-Yang. The colors were, ironically, red and black. Daisuke's was a red wing to represent Yang. There was, however, one black feather to represent Yin. The holder of the other half was Dark. His wing, of course, was black with one single red feather. The two pieces fit together to form the Yin-Yang shape. This whole piece belonged to another set in and of itself. When THOSE two came together, a traditional white and black Yin-Yang was formed. Which half–the black or white–to be used depended on which part of the soul was to be forced out. Daisuke and Dark owned the _Yami Nijuu-Jinkaku_, or Dark Split Personality. They suspected Satoshi held the _Hikari Nijuu-Jinkaku_, or Light Split Personality–but that's another story. A legend surrounds the two artifacts, but that whole story has yet to be found. Needless to say, Kousuke is working diligently to figure out exactly what that legend is.

Daisuke was ecstatic when the artifact was discovered. It meant more early nights and less stealing for the innocent red-head. What he DIDN'T expect was the feeling of emptiness that filled both his head and his heart. Well . . . **almost** emptiness. Something that had been discovered very quickly was that there was still a connection between the two halves, albeit a weak one. Strong emotions would be able to move through that connection, meaning that Daisuke would feel emotions that were exclusively Dark's, and vice versa. Daiki suspects that other sensations could travel through the bond as well, although Daisuke wasn't exactly ready to try that out.

Suddenly Daisuke smirked, and then quickly covered his mouth to avoid any laughter that could escape. Every night that he had stayed home during one of Dark's thefts meant a guaranteed emotional connection: Satisfaction. Every time a theft was executed without a hitch, Dark always experienced some sort of strong emotion. (Honestly, you would think he would be _used_ to it by now.) This was the connection Daisuke was experiencing now. Note to self: get the emotional urges under control.

Daisuke turned over on his bed and proceeded to burry his head in his pillow. There was no need to look up when the window creaked open, for he was already aware of who it was. The one thing Daisuke _didn't_ expect, however, was suddenly feeling extremely mischievous. This could not end well.

"Hello, Dai-chan" Dark smirked, and sat at the end of the bed. "How was your night?"

"Daaaark! _Please_ don't do anything. I'm tired." Daisuke tried, to no avail, to burry his head further into his pillow.

Noticing the poor boy's efforts–and ready to take FULL advantage of him–Dark crawled up on the bed to lay beside Daisuke. "Aw, Daisuke! Is that how you treat your other half. You didn't spend any time with me today because you were 'too tired.' Honestly, you should respect me, and be thankful that someone like me would actually want to spend time with you. All the girls would be jealous."

"Sure, they would. But that's because they have delusions of you being a knight in shining armor." At this point, Daisuke sat up on the bed and looked at Dark, an incredulous look in his eyes. "If they knew what kind of person you really were, I honestly don't think they would be too jealous anymore."

"OI! What's that supposed to mean!"

"Exactly what it sounds like!"

"I am NOT perverted!"

"I never said that! You just stuck words in my mouth!"

"BUT YOU WERE THINKING IT!"

The two then glared daggers at each other, waiting for the other to give up. Total war would have broken out had Emiko not chosen that moment to barge in with a camera.

"Alright, you two! Time for the picture that was promised to me!" Her smile was flawless, yet her eyes were awfully fierce. They dared the Kaitou and Tamer to disagree.

"Eh? Picture?" Dark looked at Daisuke, who only laughed sheepishly.

"I, ah, promised her a picture when you got back." He looked at Dark hopefully, sending meaningful glances at his mother. "Besides . . . I want something to remember you by."

"Well, I don't see why not." Dark then proceeded to grab Daisuke by the waist and pull him into his lap. Interestingly enough, it was done with care, as though Dark had been handling a new born. Daisuke all but blushed, and Emiko looked slightly amused.

" . . . Did you have to do it that way, Dark?" Daisuke tried to calm whatever emotions decided to pop up, for fear that they would let themselves known to Dark.

"Aw, Dai-chan " He rested his chin on the smaller boy's head, and flashed one of his famous grins. "You're cute when you blush like that."

You have to give Daisuke some credit. He tried to look angry, he really did. But when you're stuck in Dark's lap and he's grinning at you, it's a bit hard to be angry.

"Don't 'Aw, Dai-chan' me! And stop teasing me!"

Emiko quietly observed the fiasco in front of her, and couldn't help but smile. Those two were just so cute when they argued like that! But she needed that picture, and needed it now. "Alright, you two. Look cute and smile!"

Dark wrapped his arm around Daisuke shoulders, and brought his head down to Daisuke's level, just off of his shoulder. Daisuke brought his left arm up to grasp Dark's, and the two put their right hands out in "peace" signs. Emiko all but giggled when she capture the moment on camera, and took a quick glance at the preview screen before turning the camera off.

"HEY! Don't we get to see the picture?" Both Dark and Daisuke inquired at the same time, making Emiko smile all the more.

"You will when I get it developed. Now, you two should be going to bed. It may be Sunday tomorrow, but it's still quite late. Goodnight!" She walked out the room, and shut the door, leaving the room in silence.

Daisuke fell back on his bed again, but this time Dark followed. "I really wanted to see how the picture turned out." Daisuke had one of his pouts on his face, and Dark smiled.

"Ah, well." He poked Daisuke on the nose, and grinned at the boy's reaction. "We'll get to see it tomorrow. SO! Let's go to bed. I'm kinda tired." Dark turned on his side, and promptly fell asleep.

It took Daisuke a whole five seconds to realize that he and Dark were still in two separate bodies. "Hey! Dark! We need to put the two pieces of the _Yami Nijuu-Jinkaku_ back together! Daaaark!" Seeing that not even an explosion would wake him up, Daisuke gave up and fell to sleep beside Dark.

Emiko hummed to herself as she walked up the stairs to Daisuke's room. She smile widened as she took a second to look at the picture she had gotten developed earlier that morning. Those two really were a pair.

As she entered her son's room, she noticed three very peculiar things. The first was that Daisuke was not yet up, despite the fact that it was almost 11 am. The second was that Dark and Daisuke had not fused the _Yami Nijuu-Jinkaku_. That explained the first peculiar event: staying separated for long periods of time drained energy. The third was that Dark and Daisuke were sleeping in the same bed, almost cuddling each other. Daisuke's head was lying on Dark's chest, whose arm was covering Daisuke in a protective manner. Emiko giggled at the sight of the two boys. She would never get over just how cute the two of them were when they were around each other.

She put the picture–frame and all–on Daisuke's desk. It would be the first thing either of them saw when they woke. She slowly left the room, and shut the door.

Dark was the first to wake. Just as Emiko had suspected, the picture was the first item Dark saw when his eyes opened. He was just barely able to grab it, and smiled when he saw it up close. Daisuke woke up soon after, his eyes shielded from the light and his mouth shielded to hide a yawn. "Whatchya lookin' at?" he inquired sleepily

Dark's smile only widened. "It's the picture Emiko took of us. I already knew I was photogenic, but this picture only proves it even more, and I can tell you why."

"Why? Is your head tilted to one side so that you're hair falls into your eyes in a sexy, laid-back look?"

Dark could only stare at the red-head. " . . . What?"

"What?! You've used that description before." He looked at Dark as if daring to deny he had said anything like that. Which was something Dark couldn't deny. Dark knew that Daisuke had heard him say something similar every time his picture was in the newspaper.

The smile on the Kaitou's face grew warm, and he glanced back at the picture. "No," he said, and then looked back at Daisuke. Both were feeling emotions that neither was sure were theirs completely. With Dark's gaze on him, Daisuke could feel a beautiful red blush begin to appear on his cheeks.

"It's because you're in it with me."

* * *

Kayara Part One: Complete!

I thought about a points system, and this is what I got. Good suggestions and/or amazing reviews are worth 5 points.

I've also named this chapter after a song. 50 points if you guess the artist, and 10 if you guess the album. 100 points to those who can figure out the line that reflects a lyric in the song.

And finally, 200 points to those who can guess _under what context_ Nijuu-Jinkaku is Split Personality. (Really not as hard as it sounds)

BETA-ed by my friend, Zi-kun. If he has a account, I'll let you know.


	2. What Is Eternal? Part One

Oh, my. I've finally got another chapter up. It's been a while, huh? XD That "series of one-shots" was a piece of crap. Just ignore what I said. XD

_Italics_: Thoughts, or Dai speaking to Dark (when sharing the same body/speaking through mind). It should be pretty clear.  
**_Bold Italics_**: Dark talking to Dai (when sharing the same body/speaking through mind).  
"Quotations": Regular speech.

It's still Yaoi. It's still DarkDai. And D.N.Angel is STILL not mine.

* * *

**Chapter Two: What Is Eternal? (Part One)**

"Niwa-kun!"

Said boy turned around at the mention of his surname. He was met with his girlfriend, Harada Riku. Despite being a bit of a tomboy, she was quite pretty.

"Ah! Riku-san!"

Riku simply looked at Daisuke, as though deciding whether or not she should continue on. Once deciding that it was indeed okay to talk, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Ah, I'm glad I caught up with you! Walk to class with me. I want to ask you something."

_**Oh, boy. Get ready, Dai,**_ Dark snickered in the back of Daisuke's mind.

_Yeah, yeah._ "So, what did you want, Riku-san?"

A smile was plastered on Riku's face. "There's a festival coming into town on Saturday. It only comes once every eight years! I wanted to know if you would go with me?" she all but blurted out.

Daisuke thought about it for about 10 seconds before finally replying, "I'm sorry, Riku. I'm going to be busy that weekend." While Daisuke was upset that he couldn't go to the festival with her, he had already made other . . . _arrangements._

* * *

Daisuke really didn't know what to think last night. It was . . . _strange_, to say the least.

Daisuke had actually decided to go stealing with Dark that night. When the two landed back in Daisuke's room, they separated. Dark went downstairs to present the artifact to Emiko, while Daisuke finished up some of the homework he had left behind. About ten minutes later (Emiko wouldn't stop gushing over this particular piece), Dark was back in Daisuke's room. He watched Dark pass him again. Instead of heading to the bed, however, Dark went to the window. The silence ensued as Daisuke put his books away from earlier, as he laid his bookbag to the side, and as he tidied up his desk. _It's . . . quiet._ Dark had usually started ranting about how amazing he was. Either that, or he would at least ask how Daisuke's day at school went. Or poke fun at him. Either way, Dark would usually say _something_.

Daisuke literally fell to his bed, exhausted. It had definitely been a long day, and an even longer night.

"Daisuke?"

As he heard his name, Daisuke sat upright, slightly startled. He had been about to fall asleep, after all. "Y-yeah?"

"Have you heard about the Eternity Festival?"

Daisuke stared blankly at Dark, before it finally hit him. "Yeah! I've seen a few posters around town, and some on TV. Why do you ask?"

Dark's head was perched between is thumb and forefinger, thinking. "How about we go?"

"Eh?! Go?" _What is this, all of a sudden?!_

Dark's head snapped in Daisuke's direction. He gave him an incredulous stare. "Whaddaya mean, 'eh?!' It's a simple question! Do you want to go to the festival with me, or not?"

"B-but . . . why me? I thought you would have liked to invite Risa or something . . . "

Dark sighed. "Daisuke."

"Yes?"

"Ever since we've found a way to split up, we really haven't been able to spend too much time together. We _see_ each other, sure. But we don't really _spend time_ together. So, I thought the festival would be a nice place to start. Now. Are you going, or not?"

Daisuke soaked in this information while going over what he knew about the festival. The Eternity Festival came around once every eight years. It seemed like a weird number at first, but it was fitting: turning an eight on it's side yielded the infinity symbol. They festival symbolized the idea of eternity, whether this be in love, friendship, or even hate–if you wanted to go that far, that is. _Eternity . . . _

"I'll go."

"Eh?!" By this time, Dark had pretty much given up, and continued staring out the window. Hearing Daisuke speak broke the silence that had hung over the room, and, in the process, completely started Dark out of his reverie.

It was Daisuke's turn to sigh. "Yes! I said yes. I'll . . . go with you to the festival."

" . . . Really?"

Daisuke laughed. _He seems so _desperate"Yes," Daisuke smiled, "I'll go."

* * *

"Oh, I see . . . Well, here we are. We should get into our seats before the teacher gets here." Riku headed to the general area of her desk to talk to Risa and her friends. Daisuke noticed a few looks towards his general direction.

_**Ha. I think you've made yourself a few enemies, Daisuke.**_

_Oh, well. I had already made plans for the festival beforehand. I can't help it, can I? And there's no way I could break _these_ plans._ Daisuke smiled inwardly, and could feel Dark's warmth resonate inside of him.

School was interesting for the rest of the week, to say the least. Throughout the week, girls on every side of Daisuke would turn and give him dirty looks, talk some more to their friends, and give even more dirty looks. These glances were on Riku's behalf, no doubt. Dark usually laughed when Daisuke noticed these. The only thing that Daisuke could look forward to was the "Eternity Festival."

Just before leaving school on Friday, though, he ran into Hiwatari Satoshi.

"Hiwatari-kun!" Daisuke was a bit startled, but also happy. Satoshi had just returned from a long trip. He had been gone for almost a month.

"Hello, Niwa-kun." He stared, inquiringly, at Daisuke for quite a bit as the walked to the front of the school. Finally, he asked the question on his mind. "The Eternity Festival . . . "

Daisuke instantly began to worry. _**The hell does creepy boy want?**_ Dark echoed his thoughts almost exactly. "What about it? Are you going?"

_**WHY ARE YOU ASKING IF HE'S GOING?!?!**_

_BECAUSE I CAN!!!!_

_**Are you **_**serious?!**

The two proceeded to glare at each other. To anyone watching, it looked as though Daisuke was glaring at the sky, or a random tree, or an imaginary friend (because he was crazy that way). Satoshi, however, knew better. He could easily tell that he was having a debate with his alter ego. He could just as easily figure out what it was about. He could help but laugh just a bit at Daisuke's antics.

At the sound of Satoshi's quiet laughter, Daisuke remember that someone was there with him. Blushing fiercely, he looked towards Satoshi. "S-sorry about that . . . "

Satoshi only smiled. "It's alright. In answer to your question: Yes, I am going. I assume that you'll be going with _him_, right?"

"H-h-h-h-him??? W-who's him?" _What the? Who the?_

_**I TOLD you there was something fishy going on.**_

_He knows! He knows we can separate!_

Satoshi chuckled again. He put his hand into his shirt and pulled out a chain. On the end of it was a charm that looked very familiar to Daisuke.

It was a light blue Yang symbol. It was Satoshi's half of the _Hikari Nijuu-Jinkaku_.

"See you at the festival, Daisuke." With that, he went his own way home.

Daisuke was rooted to the spot. _He . . . he really has the other half. But, that means . . ._

_**Krad is going to be at the Festival, too. Oh joy. And they'll be separated. Which means he can use his powers with little to no restraint. You better hope creepy boy keeps tabs on Krad during the Festival.**_

Daisuke sighed. _Well . . . it's not like I'm going alone. You're there too, so I should be fine._ Daisuke continued his walk home. He barely noticed that Dark had not said another word. He barely recognized that Dark was a bit stunned.

_**Hmph. Well, of course you'll be alright if I'm there. It is me, after all.**_

Opening the gate to his front lawn, Daisuke laughed to himself. _Sure, Dark. Whatever you say._

* * *

As soon as Daisuke arrived home on Saturday, he finished the little homework he had very quickly. When it hit about 5 o'clock, Daisuke went to his room to prepare for the festival. First thing's first, though.

Daisuke took the _Yami Nijuu-Jinkakau_ from under his shirt. In this state, the two pieces were still together. Now, taking the red piece in his right hand and the black in his left, he pulled them apart. Daisuke closed his eyes, and waited. An awesome energy spread from both pieces to surround his body. The _Yin_ energy went inside of him to pull Dark out, while the _Yang_ energy supported his physical body through the change. After about half a minute, Daisuke was only holding only the red piece.

"Well, I'm not sure that I'll ever get used to that experience." Dark was dressed in his "standard" outfit. Seeing as he was gaining his own body from the separation, were it not for the fact that he was part of an artwork, he probably wouldn't being wearing any clothes at the moment. His current outfit is skin tight, and "morphs" with his body. When Dark gets changed into actual clothes, this outfit disappears, so that he really _is_ naked.

Daisuke stared at Dark. It was still so _strange_ seeing him on the outside. "You know, I don't think I'll ever get used to it, either. But . . . it feels . . . so _interesting_."

Dark performed an immaculate double-take on Daisuke. "I-interesting? It feels interesting?!" Without further ado, Dark began to laugh. Daisuke sighed. _I'm the only one who ever sees Dark like this. What does Risa _see_ in him?_

"Oi. I heard that, Dai."

Daisuke flinched. "I'm . . . uh . . . gonna get ready now." He ran off into the bathroom and shut the door.

" . . . There's a reason you're the only one who sees me like this, Dai." Dark's smile was warm and gentle. Daisuke was definitely a precious person to Dark–no doubt about that–and he would do almost anything to protect him. _But, does Daisuke know that?_

_Oh, well._ Dark went to his own special closet, and went through the assortment of clothes to decide what he would wear to the festival.

* * *

About an hour later, both Dark and Daisuke were ready to leave for the festival. Daisuke was wearing black pants with a long-sleeved red shirt. Above this shirt, he wore a black jacket. The jacket came to about his waist. It was fashioned with quite a few interesting buckles, and adorned with quite a few holes, in the right places. Dark was also wearing black pants, but his shirt was more of a dark purple or black color. His jacket, too, was black. His, however, went to the ground. The buckles and holes found on this jacket were found in similar number and fashion to Daisuke's. Each also wore a set of fingerless gloves, and a pair of plain black shoes. Kosuke had given Dark and Daisuke a pair of bracelets. If they ended up losing one another, the bracelets would help them find each other again. In combination with the fact that they could communicate mentally, this would help save time. It was a large festival, after all.

"Oh!!! Dai, sweetie, can I have a picture with you and Dark? You two are all matched!" Emiko ran from the kitchen to the front hall to find that Daisuke and Dark were ready to leave.

The two looked at each other, and smiled. "Of course, Emiko. Anything for you."

"Oh, Dark! Right! You two look cute, now, so the picture will turn out nice." She eagerly held the camera up, ready and waiting for her "sons."

Dark simply brought his hand around Daisuke's shoulder and pulled him close. Daisuke stumbled at first, but soon caught his balance by leaning against Dark. "Did you have to do it that way?"

"Aw, come on. It's not like you were _doing_ anything. Just look at the camera and look cute."

Daisuke sighed, but proceeded to do as he was told. He was taking the picture for his mom, after all.

A few (or maybe more than a few) flashes later, Emiko put the camera away. Her happiness glowed around her. "Thank you! I'll make sure to give you a copy of the picture. You still have the first one, don't you."

Daisuke smiled. "Mm. One is in a frame up in my room. I keep the key chain one you made with me."

"I actually keep mine with me, as well." Dark looked towards the window. Emiko noticed a _slight_ blush begin to appear on his cheeks.

"Alright! You two go to the festival and have a good time! See you when you get home!" With that, Emiko skipped back to the kitchen.

"Well, you ready?" Dark looked to Daisuke. "And, are you sure you still wanna go? You could probably still call Ri–"

"No!"

Dark was a little more than slightly taken aback. "Eh . . . what was _that_ for?"

"I-I mean, I promised you, right? I promised I would go with you. So, I'll go. Besides, it'll be fun. It has been a while since I've actually spent and time with you."

A truly happy smile adorned Dark's features. "Alright! Let's get going! Time for an adventure!"

Daisuke laughed. "A-adventure?!"

And, little did they know, quite an adventure was waiting for them just around the corner.

* * *

So? SO? Whaddaya think? The title from the last chapter was Filter's "Take A Picture." The lyrics context was about holding Dai like a baby, or something like that. XP The context for Nijuu-Jinkaku is medical. It's used to mean Split Personality Disorder, or something along those lines. XD Can you guess this chapter's title? I'll probably get to the lyric thing later. There is gonna be two parts to this, after all.

My beta is Death-by-Yaoi (user number: 945525). He write Naruto, mostly.

Comments, suggestions, and criticisms are much appreciated!


	3. What Is Eternal? Part Two

Oh my gosh, kill me now. XD I _told_ you I'd get it up today. It's also at least a full two pages longer than the other chapters, so HA. Expect, at most, two more chapters--if that.

God...I apologize for taking more than a year to get this up. I hope this makes up for that. The next chapter is basically completely planned out (in my head XP), so shouldn't take so long to write as this.

Thank you to those who continued to comment and favorite during that gap. It's because of you guys that I became mad enough to get started again. As with any writer here, more comments mean more story. XD

Disclaimer: No own. Sorry. XP If I did, this is probably how it would turn out.

* * *

**Chapter 3: What Is Eternal? (Part Two)**

The lights were maddening. Daisuke felt as though he was in a sea of stars.

The Eternity Festival was held in a large, flat area, just below a gently sloping hill. Those who wanted to participate in the events could stay below in the almost blinding light. Those who wanted to relax and get away from the noise were permitted to go up on the hill. The entire complex surrounded a small lake with a fountain in the middle. This presented the "symbol" for the festival; a circle means forever.

Dark and Daisuke were currently walking through the crowd completely unnoticed. They had been at the festival for about an hour with no trouble (_**Yet . . .**_, Dark would always add). Daisuke had tried his hand at a shooting game, and failed miserably. Dark then took his place and won him a small snake that, for some reason, was eating its tail.

"Dark?"

"Hm?" Dark looked down, and quickly noticed the confusion on his friend's face. "What's up?"

"Well . . . why is the snake eating it's tail? Doesn't that seem a bit weird to you?"

Dark put his finger on his lips to think. _**I've heard about it before . . . hold on.**_

They made their way to a clearing under one of the few trees by the lake and sat down. Daisuke looked at Dark as he thought. His eyes were intense, trying to remember something now forgotten. Daisuke continued to stare into the eyes. They were a color not unlike his own, but a much darker shade. It was a wonder that Risa had not yet noticed the similarity.

Daisuke bypassed the color. He just looked at the intensity. _You could get lost_, he thought. _There's just something about his eyes. I don't know what it is, though . . ._

"–suke?"

Daisuke's head snapped back and his eyes refocused. Dark was staring back at him, puzzlement all over his face. "Um . . . yeah?"

"Are you . . . okay? You were looking pretty dazed just then."

Daisuke blushed. "No! No, I'm fine. What did you want?"

Dark turned his body so that he was facing Daisuke. He was sitting cross-legged. "Well," he began, "it's a really old symbol. It literally means eternity. That's why there's a bunch of flames all over the place. The flame is yet another symbol of eternity."

Daisuke took another look at the snake, but in a different light. With the snake eating it's tail, it formed a circle. _Eternity . . . makes sense._

"Well, speaking of eternity, I feel like I haven't eaten for that long. Come on–we'll go get something to eat." Dark reached out his hand to help Daisuke off the ground, and Daisuke took it. Being the half-klutz that he is, the poor kid stumbled on his way off the ground and crashed into Dark–landing them right back where they started. Only this time, instead of being _beside_ each other, they were _on top_ of each other.

"You . . . are a klutz. It's kinda sad."

"Shut it." Daisuke turned away from Dark as he attempted to get back on his feet. His embarrassment manifested itself physical by way of a blush.

Dark aided Daisuke, and after they were both back on their feet, said, "Look. I'll go get something to eat. You wait here."

* * *

On the other side of the park, a different kind of group was enjoying themselves.

Or, at least, they tried to.

Riku was more than a little upset. She had really wanted to spend the night with Daisuke. After all, it was the _Eternity_ Festival. And she could honestly say she wanted to be with him for an eternity. It just made sense.

Risa was always conscience of Riku's mood, as well as the effect it had on the rest of their party. Takeshi was starting to get a bit frustrated, Masahiro was trying to keep Takeshi calm, Saga was going nuts trying to find Daisuke (much to Riku's chagrin), Funibashi was trying to keep _him_ back, and Ritsuko and Mari were trying to do what they could to make Riku (and, in turn, Risa) feel better. It was a little confusing.

Though, Risa had some problems of her own. She was quite disappointed because Dark had not asked her to the Festival. She had half expected it–what with it being a public event and him being Kaitou Dark–but she had wanted him to ask, nonetheless. Either way, she was determined to have as much fun as she could.

"Riku . . . please stop this. You don't know what Daisuke had to do instead. Maybe he really couldn't come."

Riku stood from the bench by the lake and walked a few steps before turning around. "I _know_. It's just . . . "

"Just . . . ?"

She shrugged. "I wanted to spend the evening with him. But, I can't. So, we're going to have as much fun as we can." Riku smiled. The rest of the group was finally happy that Riku had gotten over her slump, but Risa could still see that something was wrong. But she didn't press the matter any further. It would only make things worse. Besides, she knew almost exactly what Riku was going through, and knew that she would rather not be asked herself.

"Well! I think it's about time we got something to eat!!" Takeshi stood up with a new energy, and stared expectantly at the rest of the group. "_Well?_"

Risa was the only one to respond. "Alright. I'll come with you. Don't go to far, anyone! We'll be right back with some food." She stood and followed Takeshi–who was quickly moving away.

"Where are you _going_? There was a stand right there!" Risa almost had to run to keep up with Takeshi.

"I saw a Takoyaki stand a bit back. _That's_ what I wanna eat!" Takeshi turned to Risa and grinned. Risa just shook her head and decided to follow. Besides, it would be an easy meal. Even if they did have to walk to the beginning of the park to find one whose line wasn't a mile long.

Risa saw who was standing there before her eyes registered anything else.

* * *

Dark was careful walking through the crowds. He currently donned a rather stylish black hat and shades to match. He didn't want to be recognized, after all–it would prove troublesome to both himself and Daisuke. And, for whatever reason, it seemed as though a hat and shades would do the trick. Most of the people were probably more focused on the actual festivities, anyway.

_**Hmm...what should we eat? Takoyaki? Yeah . . . takoyaki sounds good. Besides–who doesn't like takoyaki?**_

Dark had to walk to nearly the entrance of the festival grounds before finally finding a stand with a shorter line. _**I guess most people don't think about eating as soon as they get in.**_

Dark stood at the end of the line, which was only five or so people long. He might have been in trouble if it was any longer . . .

As he stood, his mind wandered to what Daisuke was doing. Probably wishing he had a sketch book with him so he could draw the view of the lake. Or that he was with Riku. _**Shut up!**_ he berated himself. _**He chose to be with you . . . don't ruin it with a sour mood.**_ The line moved up a little more, and as Dark moved closer to the stand, his mind moved farther and farther away. He was imagining Daisuke, sitting under the tree, the fire from the torches glowing nearby, the moonlight reflecting from the lake onto his skin . . .

" . . . der, sir?"

Dark's mind jolted uncomfortably to attention. "Uh . . . t-two orders of takoyaki, please." In what seemed like more than two minutes, Dark handed over the money and received the two skewers of takoyaki.

Not a few feet away, he saw a fruit stand. Walker closer, he could see the little package containing eight strawberries. _**Turn eight on it's side, and you've got infinity. These people are smart.**_ He picked up one of the small packages, and immediately thought of Daisuke. So he bought it. Dark walked away smiling, trying to imagine just how Daisuke would react when he brought him the strawberries.

* * *

"Sorry to break it to ya, Risa, but Dark _definitely_ brought someone."

Risa's head jerked in his direction. They had just received their order and were heading back to the rest of the group. "What do you mean? How can you be sure of that?"

Takeshi just shook his head, chuckled, and looked back up in her direction. "You saw what he looked like when he picked up the strawberries. Chances are, they made him think of the person he was with. _That's_ why he bought them. Not to mention the fact that he got TWO orders of takoyaki. Why would he get two if he was here by himself."

The words hit Risa. She knew what he was saying was true, but she just didn't want to hear it. She looked at the ground passing below her, trying to figure out who he could possibly be with. She came up with nothing, and stopped in her tracks. "Well, then, Mr. I-Know-Everything, just who is he with?"

"I don't know. Wanna check it out?"

For the second time, her head jerked in his direction. "But how?! It's not just you and me, you know. We have to worry about Riku and the others!"

He scoffed. "Yeah, yeah. C'mon, now, there's an easy excuse for _that_! The lines were just too long, and we had to walk all the way back to the entrance." Takeshi winked mischievously and elbowed Risa in the arm.

She looked at Dark's retreating figure–she could barely make him out now that he was so far away. Thousands of questions swam through her mind.

" . . . Okay. I'll go."

* * *

Risa and Takeshi quickly and silently followed Dark through the crowd. They were sure they had lost him quite a few times. Granted, it was pretty hard to trail someone when your holding food for four people _each_, but they made do.

Finally, they heard Dark talk.

"Ne, Dai-chan! You better be grateful to me! I just had to walk all the way to the entrance to find a line short enough."

The two stopped in their tracks. They couldn't yet clearly hear nor see who Dark was talking to. They looked at each other, nodded, and slowly inched forward to the bushes near the tree. From there, they hoped, they would be able to discover Dark's "date."

"Whodaya think 'Dai-chan' is?"

Risa thought for maybe a second before she came up with what seemed like the most reasonable answer–even though, to her, it wasn't at _all_ a reasonable answer. "Well, he's using a nickname, right? You don't think it's–"

It was Takeshi's turn to jerk his head in Risa's direction. "Y-you don't think . . . ?"

They were now close enough to hear voices, so all conversation stopped.

"–ing this whole time? I must've been gone for fifteen, twenty minutes." Dark continued to stand and leaned against the tree.

"Just thinking, really. And looking out into the lake. It was really appropriate for them to shape the festival like a circle around it. It's also very beautiful. I'd really like to paint this..."

Dark looked down to Daisuke, who was aimlessly staring out towards the lake and the surrounding landscape. He couldn't help but smile. "Aw, Daisuke! You're kind of adorable when you think about things like that. You're just so sincere!"

Daisuke fumed. And blushed. We can't forget the blushing. "Daaark! Stop _teasing_ me. What satisfaction do you get fr–"

During Daisuke's miniature tirade, Dark kneeled on the ground; he decided it would be fun to further tease the poor boy. He brought his hand behind Daisuke's head and brought him forward into an embrace. He then proceeded to complete the package by mussing up his hair. The remains of their food had been forgotten.

"Dark! No–stop! AGH! You're not being f–that _tickles_, Dark!"

Dark smirked. "Dai. You should _not_ have told me that."

By this time, Daisuke was in full view, bright smile and all. Dark's smirk had changed into a smile that could rival Daisuke's.

If it was possible to do an infinity-take, Takeshi and Risa would have done it.

* * *

Riku was furious.

_Where the hell's my food! Where the hell is RISA?!_

In the absence of Risa, Ritsuko and Mari tried to calm Riku down–a daunting task, to be sure.

"Riku-chan! It's–calm down! I'm sure they're just in a long line or something." Ritsuko smiled at Riku, who had finally stopped pacing.

She looked towards her two friends, and grumbled. "Oh, I'm just _worried_, is all. I just don't feel right all of a sudden."

"Maybe it's the 'twin thing,'" responded Mari. "Maybe Risa-chan's just angry that she had to walk so far and wait in line for so long."

"Hmmmmm . . . " She couldn't stand it anymore. She turned around and walked away. Everyone followed her; it wouldn't do anyone good to have someone lost.

Saga finally took notice of the drama (he was still a little too preoccupied on where Daisuke could be). "Riku! Where're you goin' . . . ?"

She quickly turned on her heel to stare straight into Saga's eyes. So quickly, in fact, that he almost crashed right into her.

"To find Daisuke."

* * *

Meanwhile, Satoshi was having one heck of a time.

"Hiwatari-sama? Are you sure you wouldn't like to check in on Dark and Daisuke's..._progress_?"

Satoshi sighed for the _nth_ time that evening. How many times had he asked this? "Yes, Krad. I'm entirely positive. Besides," he smiled at his other half. "I think they'll do just fine on their own. Dark isn't as dense as you believe him to be."

Kad smiled back. "Yes, well. He's definitely much more thick-headed than either of us. And the Tamer is even worse." He leaned down to kiss Satoshi's cheek, but the latter's hand got there first.

"You know I'm not one for Public Displays of Affection, Krad."

Krad frowned, but a smile was still in his eyes. "I guess I'll just have to live with touching you with my hand then, won't I?" He held out his left hand to Satoshi.

Satoshi looked down to the ground, closed his eyes, and smiled. " I suppose you will." He held out his right hand, and the two continued to walk towards the lake.

* * *

"Emiko!"

Emiko sat up from the sofa in a panic and ran towards the basement. "K-Kousuke? Have you found something?"

She entered the library to find her husband sitting at a desk in the center, books piled high all over its surface. Only enough room was left to place down a single open book.

"You need to come take a look at this, Emiko."

"Ah! Dad . . . what is it?" She hurried to their side and looked over Kousuke's shoulder to the book laid open on his desk.

"Here." He put his index finger on the top of the second page. "Read this."

_Nijuu-Jinkaku: The Split Personalities_

_An ancient artifact with a peculiar story. It is said to be created by one of the Hikari by pure emotion alone. The artifact allows for the separation of the "split personalities" of the feuding families, depending on the elemental disposition–Dark or Light–possessed._

"But . . . but we already _know_ that, honey."

Kousuke nodded. "Yes, but don't you find something peculiar about that short paragraph?"

"My only question is how an art piece can be created by pure emotion."

Kousuke dug into the pile of books directly to his right, until he found an old journal. "Technically, we shouldn't have this, and not even Dad knows why we have this, but it didn't make sense when I read it before. Now that you've read that . . . " He opened the journal on top of the other book. One thing struck Emiko immediately.

"Th-that date! This journal's over 300 years old! How could it be preserved so well?"

"Magic. It wants to be read. Only then will the magic fade."

"She bent over once again, to read the page. It was a very neat and meticulously written entry.

_I cannot describe what I am feeling. Why has everything I know been destroyed?_

_For the first time, I will confess it in this journal: I love him. I still do, even though his words have just ripped apart my very being. And, ironically enough, his other half–that despicable thief–has just done the very same thing to his Tamer. Apparently, our acceptance of these demons has transcended that very thin line between love and __love__, and so soon into this curse._

_I met him earlier, face to face, for the first time. I will not write his name here, for I should not even be speaking of him. My family would put me to shame for meeting the descendent of the one who ruined our flesh with this curse. None the less, the emotional connection we felt was powerful. I do not remember much of what happened, other than a mutual feeling of abandonment. But I remember that, together, we __did__ something. Something __spectacular__. But as soon as these artless artifacts were created, they went into hiding again. I leave the readers with a statement that attacked my mind as soon as they left:_

_Only when mutual affection is reached will the __**ultimate**__ curse finally be breached._

Emiko turned the page to find the last entry.

_He is not the same anymore. Though he is physically close, he is emotionally and mentally distant. He no longer shares with me his innermost thoughts. No–he only teases the affection that I still can't help but hold for him. I fear that my days are numbered–whether it is nature's doing or my own, I cannot say._

"Is this...Hikari's?"

"Yes. I assume he is talking about Krad. This incident would almost explain why Krad treats Satoshi the way he does, and why Dark never got _too_ close to anyone at all." Kousuke shut the book, and heaved a sigh he felt he had been holding in for far too long.

Emiko was struck with an epiphany–a dangerous one if it were true. "So, the _Nijuu-Jinkaku_ have appeared again, right? Does that mean . . . "

Daiki lowered his head. "Probably. They've appeared because there's a chance. They've stayed to test them."

* * *

Dark and Daisuke had finally calmed down and were both sitting against the tree trunk. Takeshi and Risa were almost fascinated with their behavior with each other. Every once in a while, one of them would burst out a random statement, and the other would know _exactly_ what they were talking about. It was almost as though they could read each other's minds.

The two eavesdroppers were about to leave in boredom when Dark finally spoke.

"Daisuke."

He was suddenly thrown out of his reverie by the mention of his name, and he turned his head to look at Dark. "Yeah?"

He sighed and looked down. "Can I. . . . Can I tell you something . . . personal?"

Daisuke was taken aback by this sudden show of insecurity. First, Dark would hardly ever share anything personal with Daisuke. Second, he wouldn't let anyone know how he was feeling. Third, he was so good at not letting anyone know, he could usually hide his body language. Dark was defying all three rules.

"Of course, Dark. You can tell me anything, you know."

He took a deep breath, and turned to the boy sitting beside him. "Listen, Daisuke. I'm going to say this as clear as I can make it. I l–"

"DAISUKE! What are you doing with _him_?"

Daisuke did a double-take toward's his girlfriend's direction and smiled. "R-Riku!" He got up and walked over to her. He never hated her more than he did in that moment.

* * *

Hur hur hur. Have I said where the song title comes from yet? "What Is Eternal?" is a Trans-Siberian Orchestra song from their "Beethoven's Last Night" CD.

R&R because I really do love you, and you know you love me too. XD


	4. What Is Eternal? Part Three

OH HOLY HELL ON EARTH WHAT IS THIS. Are pigs flying? Yes, this is an actual update, and the last part of _What Is Eternal?_ The next part will go up at a time in the future (I refuse to make promises, I'm sorry; I just don't trust myself, seeing as I'm worse than Sugisaki herself when it comes to updates).

I'm pretty sure this is roughly the same length as the last chapter. I felt I had written myself into a corner with the last part (and, to be honest, also fell a bit out of the pairing), which may or may not influence the way this was written. I also had trouble with the idea of vilifying the Harada twins; as such, things may not go as you expect, and this chapter is more about exploring their feelings than those of Dark or Daisuke.

As an extra advert, if anyone who reads this also likes Ace Attorney (specifically, Apollo Justice), I am taking it upon myself to continue _Third Time's the Charm_ once this is taken care of, so please go take a look!

DISCLAIMER: Obviously not mine.

* * *

**Chapter 4: What Is Eternal? (Part Three)**

The look on Riku's face was nothing short of anger, and maybe a little confusion. When Daisuke mentioned he would be busy, she didn't think that meant being chummy with the biggest pervert in town.

On his end, Daisuke tried his best to keep up a smile, though he couldn't help but bring his hand up behind his head. He was a little embarrassed to be caught not just by Riku, but by the whole gang. As soon as he was within grabbing distance, Riku snatched up his hand in her own and dragged him off to a section of trees on the other side of the lake.

Dark watched the entire scene in silence, only then realizing _just_ what he was about to do . . . especially in front of a full audience. He nearly smacked himself on the head for being so careless.

"Oi, Risa. You and the Saehara brat can come out now." He stood up and brushed the dirt from his pants. Risa and Takeshi sheepishly revealed themselves to the crowd, though it didn't take long for the two of them to regain their composure.

"Dark-san! You know Niwa-kun?"

"Pfft, know? Just _know_?" Takeshi laughed while fishing around his back for his camera. "Did you see how ridiculous they were with each other? I wish I wasn't so shocked, else I would have taken a few pics! It's not every day you get to see the great Phantom Thief Dark smiling like a dork!"

Risa had the decency to smack Takeshi for his remark after seeing the slight smirk on Dark's face. She slowly walked over towards him, hands behind her back and head toward the ground. "I was hoping for an invitation from you, Dark-san."

"Listen, Risa . . ."

"But you looked like you were having fun." She finally brought her head up to show Dark a true smile. "He must be important to you. I never would have guessed," she said laughing.

This time _Dark_ looked a bit embarrassed, though it wasn't because he didn't try to hide it. He was just a little too flustered from earlier. "Ah, well. I guess you could say that."

* * *

The further away Riku pulled Daisuke from the group, the faster she seemed to go. It took all Daisuke had to keep up with her and not wince from the slight pain in his grabbed hand. Though he thought Riku's reaction was a little too much, he couldn't exactly blame her for being angry. He never mentioned "being busy" meant "going with someone else"—if he did, she would have asked what that meant, and he had already lied to her about so much that he couldn't handle doing it again. It wasn't until they were on the exact opposite side of the lake and into a small tree grove (Riku thought being out of sight of everyone else was much better) that Riku finally stopped. That didn't mean she let go of his hand or turned around, however.

"Niwa-kun.

He flinched, and there was no doubt in his mind she felt it.

"I've figured for a long time that there are things you're not telling me. Things that I was too afraid to ask about. Some of those fears…might have been proven wrong. But I don't know what to think about the alternative."

Daisuke swallowed. His instincts were preparing him for some insane fight-or-flight response. He had a feeling he wasn't getting out of this unscathed. "We…I mean, Dark and I…we're just frie—"

"Even if that was the case!" She dropped Daisuke's hand like it was poison and spun around. The faint light of the flames highlighted the few tears that had managed to escape from her eyes. "E-even if that was the case…that's a pretty big secret to keep."

"U-um, I'm probably going to regret it, but . . . 'even if that was the case'? What do you mean . . . ?"

Though it had been there from the very beginning—albeit masked by anger—Riku's confusion started to show more and more on her face. "His face! He was about to say something really really important to you!"

Daisuke thought back on the words he had said before their interruption. And then blushed at the unfortunate part at which Dark had broken off. He was sure there were other words that could have fit there—there had to be!—but the implications pointed at only one . . .

"No! No, no no no. That, that was. That was obviously nothing! I mean, there's no way _Dark_ of all people could—"

"Niwa-kun . . . could you lower your hand from your mouth?"

"Huh? Oh, I was doing that?"

Daisuke was sure Riku's eyes couldn't get much bigger than they were now. It appeared that her anger had all but disappeared, but something about the morbid curiosity accenting her features struck him as something to be more afraid of.

"You're _smiling_." Everything on front of Riku pointed her to a single direction, and it was a direction that any normal female in her position should be at _least_ slightly miffed at. But it struck her that, more than anything else, she felt curiosity. Just by the brief glimpse she had of them, she could tell Daisuke and Dark were close. He had never seen Dark that relaxed around _Risa_. She wondered idly if Risa would feel the same in her situation, and came to the conclusion that she probably would. "Was that a confession? Was he . . . was _Dark_ going to—?"

Riku had seen her share of Daisuke-blushes, and none had ever gone this deep a shade of red.

Daisuke swallowed nervously. " . . . I think so."

"And is it mutual?"

To his credit, the blush didn't get any darker. "It's complicated?"

Riku sighed and kneaded the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger of her right hand. "Daisuke, there are very few things more complicated than love."

He brought his hands out in front of him and waved them with great enthusiasm. "No, that's not what I mean! Ah . . . how do I explain this?"

The blush soon subsided, and Daisuke's face instead turned to one of contemplation and worry. This clearly wasn't a simple issue.

"You two have something special, don't you? I don't mean in the 'lovey-dovey' kind of way. I mean in the 'Dark is clearly something more than human' kind of way."

Daisuke slowly nodded, and he began to talk.

* * *

Satoshi had quickly grown bored of the festival. He considered staying and watching the aftermath of Riku finding Daisuke, as she most certainly would at some point (Daisuke's luck was never with him in times like these, he observed), but he felt it was best if the embarrassment he was forced to suffer was kept to a minimum. Krad felt differently, and it took over fifteen minutes of straight arguments to convince him to just _leave it_ already.

Now Satoshi was sitting on his own bed, playing around with the small blue charm around his neck. Though his room was never the cleanest in the world, it was far messier than usual; papers, journals, and even old parchment scrolls were scattered on the floor and littered the top of his desk. It had been a long road—one Daisuke is only just starting to figure out.

Neither he nor Krad can remember just how the _Nijuu Jinkaku_ came in their possession. Satoshi woke up one morning to find the full piece around his neck and found out how it worked through very little research. After all, it was as if he already knew how they worked. He figured that particular fact had something to do with Krad's response to the object; for the first time, he felt trepidation from his other half. Krad's violence and outright interference with his life increased ten-fold when Satoshi figured out how the item worked. At the time, Satoshi had only thought it was a normal consequence of Krad finally being able to taunt and torture him without anything holding him back.

He later came to learn that Krad was trying to protect himself from the inevitable, as foretold by the strange "artwork's" appearance. And the more he probed, the deeper he found himself in the history surrounding the _Nijuu Jinkaku_, the more Satoshi came to finally _understand_—and maybe even accept—the strange being he shares his life with.

At that moment, with his usual grace and airs, Krad traipsed into Satoshi's room with two cups of tea. "You look rather bored, Satoshi-sama."

He quietly took the cup. "I might be. Or I could be thinking."

Krad scoffed and made a show of sitting on the other end of the bed. "Satoshi-sama, if you have to resort to introspection it clearly means you are bored." He scooted ever-so-closer. "I still stand by that this night would have been even more enjoyable if we remained behind to watch the Niwa boy and that bastard get discovered." Satoshi couldn't miss the smirk on Krad's face, though soon shifted his attention to Krad's free hand, which was moving to caress his face.

"Ah, Satoshi-sama. I am rather glad that neither you nor I ever fell into such idiotic emotional traps. It only makes the discovery of this artifact more fruitful." He slowly moved his thumb against Satoshi's cheek.

It was with slight disdain—only slight—that Satoshi grabbed Krad's hand and gently threw it back in his direction. "I don't need to hear these words coming from _you_, of all people. Aren't your silly emotions the reason these things exist, anyway?"

"If you are to put blame on someone, please do it properly."

"Fine." He quietly took a sip of his drink. "You and Dark."

"That wasn't what I was going for, Satoshi-sama."

Satoshi's only response was a slight smile as he continued to drink the soothing tea.

He wouldn't call it love. Probably more like an amicable friendship punctuated by periods of rather strong emotion. There was understanding, and maybe even empathy now. Quiet, teasing discussions like this, unfathomable only a few months ago, were now commonplace and even welcome. Satoshi stopped rejecting Krad's presence; and Krad stopped projecting emotions of hate and sorrow, emotions that came from a source long forgotten until the necklace's reappearance, onto someone who never deserved it in the first place.

But it absolutely wasn't love.

* * *

Through what could have only been magic, Risa managed to convince the entire group to leave her and Dark alone for a while. They were now sitting under the tree Dark had until five minutes ago shared with Daisuke. His mind kept wandering back to what he was about to say. After seeing Risa and her earnest smile, maybe it was better he wasn't given the chance to complete it?

"Risa . . . listen, you know that I'm not—"

"Human?" Her face betrayed neither fear nor disbelief, and Dark didn't think she had the capacity to feel anything like that when it came to him. "Yeah, I know."

"Daisuke . . . he sort of 'keeps me here.' It's a bit difficult to explain."

"Dark-san. I don't know if this is rude of me, but . . . we were watching you two for a while. If that's okay with you, I'd much rather talk about that."

Dark closed his eyes and massaged his forehead. "What is there to talk about? I mean, if he's necessary for my existence, it means we'd be close, right?"

Though she was glad that Dark trusted her enough to be so frank about his own life, she also realized that there was something much more in their relationship than what he was trying to claim. "Dark, I never get to see you smile like that. And you were about to—to _tell_ him something, weren't you?"

He sighed very quietly and brought his hand down from his head. Risa could be a little too astute sometimes. "And how does that make you feel?"

"I already know I can't keep you forever." That she said that with such a beautiful smile nearly made Dark's heart break. "I know that. You're the great Phantom Thief Dark, after all! But I also know you've appeared before. And before you can appear . . . you have to disappear."

Dark watched as she lowered her head and gripped the hem of her dress so hard her knuckles turned white. He offered his hand to her and she slowly took it, never lifting her head. "So, I want you to be _happy_. I can't know what you go through. I can never know. But just by seeing the two of you together, I can tell he's important to you."

" . . . our odd arrangement might have something to do with that, you know."

Risa shook her head vigorously. "Don't try to explain it away, please. It . . . I feel like it belittles my feelings for you in some way." She quickly brought her right hand up to her face, presumably to wipe away any tears that were forming, and gripped Dark's hand harder with her left. "So, even if that is the case, it looked like you wanted to try. With him, I mean. So, you should. And, you know? I'll always love you anyway. And it's because of that . . . well, I just want you to be happy, Dark-san."

Dark slowly lowered his head to Risa and kissed her temple, returning the squeeze of her hand. "I love you too, Risa. And thank you."

* * *

Riku cradled her head with her hands. As Daisuke's explanation ran a little long they both moved to sit on the floor, leaning against two trees and facing each other in the small grove. He avoided the most important issue—namely that he technically _was_ Dark—due to how much longer that particular conversation would run, especially since he now had the convenient excuse of being in separate bodies.

"So, though I don't think I can do it, I'm going to try to summarize _everything_ you just told me. Okay?"

Daisuke nodded his head, more serious that she can remember ever seeing him.

"Dark isn't human. That much is, to be frank, blatantly obvious. But because of that, he needs a human to sustain him here. That's _you_. Which is easy to understand so far. But _then_ . . . oh boy. Okay." Riku couldn't handle sitting down anymore and quickly jumped to her feet, startling Daisuke. She deftly brushed the leaves and dirt from her pants and started pacing small circles around the tiny area they were sitting in.

"So, you sort of work as a blueprint for him. Like, your 'human-ness' helps him be human? Even though he's not? And because of that, some wires get crossed and you can hear his thoughts and feel his emotions sometimes, and for you those kinds of things get really confusing because you can't tell if it you or it's him feeling those things? But because of _that_, you know him really well?"

For the first time in their entire discussion, Daisuke started laughing. "Did you have to phrase everything as a question, Riku-san?"

She threw her hands into the air, but Daisuke was glad to see she was also smiling. "It's just so _weird_. And way too complicated." When she turned to him, her expression sobered. "You . . . you've really been living through all this? All this time?"

"It's only been about a year or so."

"Niwa-kun. A year is still a _very_ long time."

Daisuke's eyes started darting from tree to tree, as he realized that this discussion was actually getting further and further from the origin of this discussion. And though he hated it, he felt obligated to return it to its proper path. "Riku-san, we're getting a little off-track, aren't we?"

Riku finally stopped pacing and stared directly at Daisuke, whose cheeks turned faintly red as he turned away. She ran her hand through her hair and sat back down directly across from him, and action that caused Daisuke to jump from surprise.

"So, I can understand the 'it's complicated' part now. But with that in mind . . . is it mutual?"

Daisuke stared unblinkingly into the ground between him and Riku. His voice was barely above a whisper. "It might be."

"'Might' isn't going to cut it in this situation, Niwa-kun."

He nodded his head with a large sigh and attempted to continue. "I've always been afraid of losing him. I still don't know if it's because I actually like him or if this weird connection we have is influencing it, but I grew to really like him. And knowing how he's going to disappear someday . . . how I'm going to have to see him in a future where he's barely aged and I'm a father or something . . ."

"What do you mean by disappear?"

For the first time, he looked up. "Well, you've heard stories about how he's appeared in this town before, right?"

He didn't need to say more than that before Riku understood the implications. "How did I not think of it earlier?"

"But Riku-san, none of that is the point here. The point is that if I acted on these probably silly emotions, I'd be hurting you!"

For the first time in this entire discussion, Riku could say she was genuinely surprised. "Hurt me?"

"Of course! How could you even ask?" Daisuke grabbed her hand, and she could see the sadness in his downturned eyes. "I don't think I can deny whatever it is I feel for him, but it's also true that I really care about you, Riku-san!"

"I'm sorry, Daisuke."

". . . eh?"

He barely had time to lift his head again before she slapped him.

"R-riku-san! What was that for?"

"Silly Niwa-kun. You're thinking so much about other people that you're wrapping back around to selfish." She leaned forward just enough to bring Daisuke forward in an embrace.

Daisuke slowly lifted his own arms and returned the hug. "Riku-san?"

"From what you've told me, you only have now to try this out. If you denied those feelings to stay with me out of obligation, I'd feel cheated, Niwa-kun." She slowly let go and leant back, all the while pushing Daisuke away so she could see his face; it was, as she expected, full of surprise. But despite the strength of her words, she couldn't stop the tears flowing.

"Is it okay to say that you're still very precious to me? Even that I still love you?" Riku nearly laughed at the tears slowly forming in Daisuke's eyes. He really was a very sweet person.

"Yeah. And I can tell you mean it. It means a lot to me, Niwa-kun."

* * *

Daisuke and Riku returned to the tree by the lake at a much slower pace than they left it. It was mostly because they still had to compose themselves, but it was also because they felt very calm with each other. For the first time since Daisuke found out about his family legacy, he was able to talk to an unrelated party about it without lying.

When Risa saw the two approaching she immediately perked up and waved in their direction. Dark looked up in response to her outburst and smiled, which led to a "huff" from Riku and a small laugh from Daisuke. _Things almost seem normal_, he thought.

Risa bounced towards Riku threaded her arm through her sisters'. "Since you two came here together, it's only right that you leave together. Right, Riku?"

She slowly shifted her head from Daisuke to Dark and back again, making sure Daisuke was okay with it. "Sure." They were about to leave before Riku snapped her head back in Dark's direction and all but snapped, "Take care of him, you pervert."

Daisuke sheepishly waved goodbye while Dark returned Riku's glare. Once they were alone again, both Daisuke and Dark could feel the slightly awkward atmosphere that was slowly developing.

It was Dark who broke the silence first. "We both had really odd conversations with those two, didn't we?"

"Ah . . . yeah. Odd might be the best way to put it." Daisuke scratched at his cheek as he tried to laugh it off.

"Can we agree not to talk about it for now?"

"Yeah, I think we can do that. But I just wanna go home now, really."

Dark stretched, which left Daisuke off-guard when he felt Dark's hand come back down to ruffle with his hair. "That sounds like a fantastic idea. Let's get the hell_ out_ of here."

* * *

"Mutual?"

"Totally and completely. I don't think I've ever seen Niwa-kun that red."

Unlike a certain other duo, Riku and Risa deigned it necessary to speak about their conversations right away.

"But, Riku . . . are you really okay with this? I've known something _like_ this would happen with me and Dark for a while now, but it's different for you and Niwa-kun."

Riku gave a slight, curt nod. "I have to be, right? The situation here is a little stranger than normal. I can't really compete with something like that, you know."

"Then!" Risa ran in front of her and slowly twirled around before stopping , giving Riku a smirk that only she could recognize as devious. Riku thought she knew what Risa was going to say next, and she was going to fight it tooth and nail. It was something those two needed to decide by themselves.

"Does this mean we can try to be match-makers?"

* * *

That you guys were still commenting on this in the FAR TOO LONG break between chapters really did put me over the edge and led to this being written (along with a burst of writer's block defeating inspiration, of course). I cannot tell you just how appreciated your comments were. If there's anyone who put this on their watch list that came back after seeing this update, all the more love for you.

Also, this was done without much beta-ing for speed's sake, so if you notice any glaring errors please let me know!


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